The Wrap: NL

NL Quote of the Night:

"I feel embarrassed."

Mets pitcher Oliver Perez after yet another lackluster start led to another Mets loss, this time to the division rival Phillies in 10 innings.

Nationals 6, Cardinals 1
Shairon Martis is only 22 years old, but for the woeful Nats, the future is now. With Jordan Zimmermann -- who absorbed his first big league loss just hours earlier -- and Martis, Washington may actually have two solid starters for the future. It's the biggest thing that fans can grasp on to early in the 2009 season, and Martis gave plenty of reason to believe he can hold up his part of the bargain in a 6-1 win on Saturday. Big ticket signing Adam Dunn helped supply the offense, giving hope that maybe, just maybe this season isn't a lost cause after all. Now, if the Nats can add Stephen Strasburg and a power hitting outfielder to the mix, maybe the'd really have something to cook with, no?Cubs 6, Marlins 1
While the rest of the pitching staff scuffles, Chicago's Ted Lilly just keeps on keeping on. Saturday served as the latest notice that no matter what happens to Ryan Dempster, Rich Harden and Carlos Zambrano, Lilly will go out and pitch to win, and more often than not, he'll execute his game plan. And if he feels like he needs to, he might even hit; on Saturday Lilly drove in two runs, which just so happens to be twice as many as he allowed.Astros 5, Braves 1
If Houston is going to remain competitive, they have to find ways to score against the likes of the Braves, particularly when Atlanta has pitchers like Buddy Carlyle on the mound instead of Derek Lowe or even an innings eater like Kenshin Kawakami. Three hits from Hunter Pence surely has to make Houston manager Cecil Cooper feel a bit better about his team's prospects, too.

Diamondbacks 4, Brewers 1
Finally, Arizona is hitting behind Dan Haren. After racking up a losing record despite a bafflingly low ERA, Haren got a win with a bit more run support thanks to some help from Justin Upton and co. The win made Haren 3-3 on the year, and if he can get himself a decent winning record, it won't be long before he surfaces in Cy Young conversations and the like if he keeps throwing the ball the way he has so far.Pirates 8, Reds 6
Well, that's one way to end a losing streak: Slug your way out of it. The Pirates bounced back from a string of anemic performances to knock around 13 timely hits, three from Nate McLouth, on a night when Pittsburgh burst out of the gate with four first inning runs and never looked back. Equally important, Ross Ohlendorf won his third straight, allowing three runs across six innings for yet another quality start.

Dodgers 2, Padres 1
Andre Ethier may not want to take a picture with you, but does want to drill a game-winning RBI in the 10th. That's all cool with him, and it's cool with his Dodgers teammates, too. The Dodgers are watching Ethier morph into a clutch hitter right below the Manny Ramirez echelon overnight, as the Padres witnessed in person last night, improving to an undefeated 9-0 in the process. That also earned a second win for Guillermo Mota, whose starting to look suspiciously like the Mota of old, which is an awfully good thing for the Dodgers.